The Liberty Championhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion
Student-Run, Student-Written, Student-ProducedTue, 21 Jul 2015 20:09:57 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.6Students spend a semester abroadhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/12/students-spend-a-semester-abroad/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/12/students-spend-a-semester-abroad/#commentsTue, 03 Dec 2013 20:02:29 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=23974Continue reading]]>Junior Charlie Scruggs prepares for his internship in Paraguay where he will live for nearly half a year

As a global studies major, Liberty University student Charlie Scruggs is required to complete an internship overseas to get ministry experience before he can graduate.

According to Scruggs, the compulsory overseas internship is an extremely helpful requirement for global studies majors at Liberty. Scruggs said that ministry has to go beyond book knowledge — it has to be experiential.

“The best way for me to learn about global work is to be truly immersed in it,” Scruggs said. “I cannot experience culture shock or the life-giving power of ministry in another country by simply reading a book. I must experience it.”

Although some may think the overseas requirement is excessive, Scruggs said it is a good experience for global study majors to have.

“I see this requirement as a very positive thing,” Scruggs said. “In all honesty, it’s pretty amazing that my major gives me the opportunity to do what I love, which I may not have been able to do without the requirement.”

According to Scruggs, he will be completing his internship in South America, going to the Hispanic country of Paraguay located on the Southwest border of Brazil. Scruggs’ assignment will be completed over the summer, but he said he might end up staying longer than required.

“The minimal requirement is 18 weeks, but I will probably be staying a little longer,” Scruggs said. “I chose Paraguay because the Lord just led me through different contacts I had, and after prayer I knew that was where the Lord wanted me to go.”

Scruggs said that, for the duration of his internship, he will be assisting missionaries in various activities. His focus will be with a single local pastor, and he will primarily work with that pastor to do outreach to the surrounding area.

“I will be assisting him in teaching, evangelizing and also helping with youth ministry in the area,” Scruggs said. “He also has a home there that houses about 17 to 20 children and teens, so I will be helping there as well.”

According to Scruggs, global studies students are not left to their own devices when trying to find an internship. Scruggs said the Global Studies Department was more than helpful in assisting him with his search.

“The Global Studies Department is very supportive and provides lots of counsel and direction,” Scruggs said. “The process for the internship is a series of meetings over time. The department is extremely helpful, and every student has the opportunity to pick an organization to go with.”

Students were encouraged to attend Global Focus Week, Scruggs said, in order to meet with potential internship organizations.

“Global Focus Week was a great time for the students to talk with organizations for this internship,” Scruggs said. “Liberty has a partnership with 10 major global organizations, such as Wycliffe Bible Translators, New Tribes Missions and others.”

Scruggs said along with the internship credit, students receive nine class credit hours during the trip. According to Scruggs, these hours come from special assignments while overseas, not from actual online classes.

“I hope to pick up a lot more Spanish while I am there,” Scruggs said. “I also hope to learn more about work around the globe, and being in the culture will help me understand the need, and also help me get a feel for what it will be like to live in another culture long-term.”

]]>https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/12/students-spend-a-semester-abroad/feed/0Washington offers opportunityhttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/washington-offers-opportunity/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/washington-offers-opportunity/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2013 18:57:51 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=22732Continue reading]]>Many people dream of one day working in the nation’s capital city, but making the first step to get there can be difficult. Liberty University’s Washington Fellowship provides the opportunity each semester for students to get a foot in the door with some of the country’s most influential corporations and organizations.

Down time — Students have plenty of opportunities for entertainment between classes in Washington. Photo provided

The Washington Fellowship is a program that places Liberty students from all majors into applicable internships in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding areas. Included in the program is housing, located only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Students wishing to be a part of the fellowship will first work with the Career Center on their professional resumé and interview skills, then proceed to apply for internships that can be applied toward course credit in most degrees.

Sarah Corder, an advertising and public relations major, went through the program this summer and enjoyed her experience.

“One of the biggest things that I gained from the experience was learning that I am capable of taking the head knowledge that I gained in the classroom and putting it into practice,” Corder said.

Currently a senior at Liberty, Corder worked for the Washington Speakers Bureau, an agency that books high-profile speakers, including politicians and professional athletes, for different occasions such as commencement addresses and panel discussions.

According to Corder, the Washington Fellowship prepares students to become champions for Christ in secular workplaces and communities.

“The Washington Fellowship brings students of all different majors together to fulfill the purpose that Dr. Jerry Falwell talked about — taking our Christian faith to the world, being the best at what we do and evangelizing through excellence in our craft,” Corder said.

Corder is one of 16 students from Liberty who completed the Washington Fellowship this summer.

After leaving work, students living in D.C. will not be hard-pressed to find something exciting to do.

“On the weekends, I was able to see all of our nation’s greatest monuments, go to all of the free Smithsonian museums and expand my knowledge even outside of the office,” Corder said.

Many students are also offered jobs from their internship once they complete the term.

“When you graduate from the Washington Fellowship program, you become a fellow for life, and that opens up a lot of doors for networking that will last forever,” Corder said. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity) that I will never forget.”

Dan Berkenkemper, the Washington Fellowship’s placement coordinator, has been working for the Career Center for two years and is passionate about his position and seeing students excel in their craft through the program.

“One of the incredible things about my job is that I get to see students who say, ‘It would be my dream to get to National Geographic or Fox News, something big,’ then actually obtain it, move on to success in D.C. and climb the ladder even further once they’re up there,” Berkenkemper said.

For more information on the Washington Fellowship, visit the Career Center on the first floor of DeMoss Hall, or visit their webpage at liberty.edu/careers.

Hometown — Sullivan has called Kenya her temporary home since her arrival in 2012. Photo provided

Kristen Sullivan, a senior with Liberty University Online, has decided to follow her passion for missions by serving the country of Kenya. She is currently living in Johannesburg, South Africa, but she started the path that the Lord laid on her heart a long time ago.

Sullivan is currently studying international business with a minor in intercultural studies, but according to her, a missions trip to Tijuana, Mexico when she was 11 convinced her that she would somehow be involved in missions.

Since then, Sullivan said she has had a passion for missions and knows that the Lord is calling her to the mission field and to specifically minister through business.

By March 2012, Sullivan had already made the decision to move to Johannesburg, but plans began to change when she met Jannekah and Martin Guya, who live in Kenya. They joked with her about living with them in Kenya, but with plans already in place, Sullivan declined. However, she soon found herself asking the Guyas if she could live with them for a little while. After a brief stay in Kenya, Sullivan moved to her current location of Johannesburg.

After learning about Liberty through her older sister, Sullivan is enrolled in online classes to fulfill her callings through Liberty. She is now in the midst of online classes while she fulfills her internship duties in South Africa.

Sullivan said that learning time management and balancing all of her responsibilities can be quite challenging.

Hometown — Sullivan has called Kenya her temporary home since her arrival. Photo provided

“I can’t do school and reach out to the people every day without the Lord,” Sullivan said. “It has been really good. It is teaching me to rely on the Lord. He is my strength.”
Sullivan is interning with a nonprofit organization called Impact Africa, an organization she learned about through Teen Mania.

“Impact Africa endeavors to motivate, train and equip the body of Christ while facilitating outreach opportunities that deeply impact participants and the nations for the Lord,” according to the organization’s website.

Sullivan said she is involved with a Bible study on Tuesdays and Fridays where she helps lead the worship time and is on a rotation for teaching the lessons. On Friday mornings, Sullivan helps in the Impact Africa preschools where children, ages two – six can participate in activities and crafts, hear Bible stories and learn English. And two – three times a week she is involved in a form of street evangelism.

“We visit the squatter camps and go house to house, talking to people and sharing the gospel,” Sullivan said.

Because she is so busy, Sullivan must schedule rest time, during which she enjoys volleyball, movies, and catching up with friends and family who are back in the United States.
Sullivan’s internship ends December 2013, and, in the meantime, she is praying and seeking counsel for the next step in her life.

“The Lord is just so good,” Sullivan said. “I have seen things I never dreamt I’d see, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, seeing how much God loves the world and the people.”

Sullivan said she can sense the Lord directing her heart to Kenya, where she would like to spend at least a couple years learning the culture.

“People really need to know and see the love of Christ,” Sullivan said. “It’s not anything Kristen has. It’s all God.”

]]>https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/09/student-takes-internship-in-kenya/feed/0Capitol internshiphttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/02/capitol-internship/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2013/02/capitol-internship/#commentsTue, 05 Feb 2013 18:52:11 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=18488Continue reading]]>In order to “train champions for Christ,” Liberty University offers many outlets for students to succeed in their desired field. The Washington Fellowship is an internship program offered as a means of placing them in a city filled with future job prospects while also earning credit toward graduation.

According to Program Recruiter Frank DiGregorio, this is not something that students have to do, but something that they get the opportunity to do.

“Nowadays, you need every edge on the competition, and employers are looking to hire within,” DiGregorio said. “They’re looking to hire people that they know, friends that they have who know people. They are networking to find employees.”

The Washington Fellowship has placed students from all different majors into internship positions, and some have been promoted to full-time positions. Interns have been positioned at Fox News, National Geographic, The Heritage Foundation, Concerned Women for America, The American Psychological Association, the National Archives and other high-profile companies and organizations.

“The advantage you have with us is that we have a placement coordinator who is constantly talking to people in D.C., organizations that we are reaching out to in order to find these opportunities,” DiGregorio said.

In the last four or five semesters, between 35 and 50 percent of the students interning in D.C. have been offered jobs after graduation, according to DiGregorio.

Vanessa Romas, a senior politics and policy major, interned in the spring of 2012 with Congressman Robert Hurt (Va). As an intern, she answered phones, addressed constituent’s questions about bills and gave Capitol tours.

“It was a lot of fun giving tours, because you get to meet people from the district your congressman represents,” Romas said. “Lynchburg was a part of Congressman Hurt’s district during my time in his office, so I met a lot of people affiliated with Liberty.”

Guidance — Students can visit the Career Center for professional advice. Photo credit: Emily Becker

According to Romas, the internship was not only a great networking tool, but also a great way for her to share her faith with others.

After her stint in D.C., Romas said that she loved the program so much that she became a student recruiter for the Washington Fellowship, going to classrooms and sharing her experiences with other students.

“One of the best aspects of the Washington Fellowship program is knowing that while you are completing your internship, there are 20 other people there from your school who know exactly what you are going through,” Romas said.

“Having a hands-on experience (in) the area I want to go into, and having a better understanding of the legislation process, helped me to narrow down what I want to do after college,” Warner said.

For information regarding the application process and acceptance into the program, visit the Washington Fellowship Program page on the Liberty website, or stop by the Career Center to set up an appointment with a career counselor.